minimize English · revision 39593

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1815, J. Bentham, Chrestomathia|origins=la minimus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈmɪn.ɪ.maɪz/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈmɪn.ɪˌmaɪz/, /ˈmɪn.əˌmaɪz/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed in English from [[la|minimus|t=smallest, least]] and the suffix [[-ize]],^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) or from [[minimum]] and ''-ize'',^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(Etymonline) and the philosopher Jeremy Bentham is credited with coining it.^(Klein 1966)^(Etymonline) The OED compares [[maximize]].^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To reduce something, especially something unwanted, to the smallest possible amount, extent or degree: 1815, in Bentham's ''Chrestomathia''.^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates it to Bentham in 1802;^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster gives 1825, and Dictionary.com 1795–1805.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The second main sense, to represent something as less important or valuable than it is, to play it down or belittle it, appears from 1866,^(OED 2026) or 1875 according to Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Between 1875 and 1898 theologians, John Henry Newman among them, used ''minimize'' intransitively for taking the most moderate view possible of what a doctrine required.^(OED 2026) Mathematicians have used it since 1901 for making a function take its least value, and since 1973 it has also been used intransitively, to reach a minimum.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1802 – Etymonline's date, in Bentham.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1815 – to reduce to the smallest possible amount.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1866 – to play down, belittle.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1875 – (theology) to take the most moderate view of a doctrine (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1901 – (mathematics) to give a function its least value.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1973 – intransitive, to reach a minimum.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To reduce something to the smallest possible amount, extent or degree: ''Wear gloves to minimize the risk of infection.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To represent something as less important or valuable than it really is; to [[belittle]] or [[play down]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (mathematics) To make a [[function]] take its least value.^(OED 2026)

+ # (computing) To reduce a window to an [[icon]] or a button on the screen.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[minimization]]

+ * [[minimizer]]

+ * [[unminimized]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[minimum]]

+ * [[minimal]]

+ * [[maximize]]

+ * [[minor]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The OED notes that some usage guides object to the sense "play down", especially when it is qualified by adverbs, although such use appears to be uncommon.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}